Synopsis

In 1780, Scotland, following a harsh year of drought, Callum Mackenzie is forced from his father’s farm in the hopes of finding work.But as fate would have it, Callum is lured onto the moors by the will-o-the-wisp. Lost in the dark, he falls into enchantment, encountering faeries and nymphs, until he stumbles into the arms of a licentious Barrow-Wight who lays claim to his soul.Hearing his silent pleas, Donal sends Liam the gruagach (faery) to rescue Callum and bring him to his farm, a place of refuge from the Fae.Callum is happy working on Donal’s farm, slowly falling in love with the beautiful, silver-haired gruagach.Yet there’s something wrong in the nearby forest….Despite Donal’s warnings, Callum is lured into the forest and becomes tangled in its magic, easy prey for the Barrow-Wight.Will Liam be able to strike a deal with the Barrow-Wight to save Callum’s life, or has Callum found his last resting place instead?

Excerpt:

Catching movement from the corner of his eye, he glanced at the strip of forest across the field. A figure cloaked in gray disappeared beneath the low-hanging limbs of the old trees. Curious, he climbed from the wall and cautiously approached the ancient forest. He could look, so long as he didn’t go in.

“Hello?” he called as the image flitted between the twisted trunks of the rowan oaks. The creature paused and glanced over its shoulder. Sweet Lord! A bodach, its face a gray blur and its body hunched and bent wrong. Callum began to shiver, dread creeping through him. The bodach were only seen by those close to death. Oh God, was he to die soon?

The creature spotted Callum and moved with unbelievable swiftness toward him. Horror kept him frozen in place, weighting his limbs. His heart beat sluggishly as the creature swept up to him. An obscene gash appeared where a mouth should have been and long arms reached out and dragged Callum against a twisted body. He screamed, but the monster smothered it, sealing its mouth over his.

He couldn’t breathe! A tongue, rough as bark, forced between his lips and scraped the roof of his mouth. He tasted his own blood and the rot of the creature’s tongue as it plunged to the back of his throat. Callum gagged as the thick muscle forced in further, the monster’s hard teeth smashing his lips. Then the bodach began to squeeze the remaining air from his lungs.

He whimpered, dizzy and lightheaded. Dark specks swam in his eyes. “I’m sorry, Liam,” he breathed, longing for a lifetime with his enchanting lover. As he thought of the gruagach, the bodach shoved him away as if burned and shrieked with fury. Callum regained his balance and darted into the trees in a blind panic, thinking of nothing but the need to get away from the horrifying creature.

Thank you, Bayou Book Junkie, for hosting me today. There are lots of mystical creatures in my story CALLUM’S FATE, imps, faeries and brownies, the gruagach and bodachan and bean-nighe. But one of my most favorite of the fae has always been the barrow wight, protecting the burial mounds of the dead.

Barrow-Wight: Barrow refers to the burial mounds they inhabited and wight is a Middle English word for "living being" or "creature", especially "human being". It does not necessarily mean "spirit" or "ghost"; it is cognate to modern German "Wicht", meaning small mythical creatures–Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barrow-wight)

A simple description for this most powerful and dangerous creature. In my story, Callum becomes lost on the Scottish moors and stumbles on a barrow, falling straight into the arms of a lecherous barrow wight, wanting Callum’s body and hungry for his soul. I had a lot of fun writing this bewitching character. Though Callum is in mortal danger, he can’t help but respond to the steady seduction of the barrow wight’s fingers and lips and impossibly long tongue.

I admit I took a lot of creative license with my wight. They are mostly portrayed as dark spirits who will kill out of hand anyone trespassing on their barrows. Callum’s wight is more carnal than that, liking to take his prey as a lover before taking his life. And the pleasures he gives Callum! I challenge anyone to deny him for long.

But of course, Callum needs to be rescued before the wight tires of him and finally kills him. That’s where my gorgeous gruagach comes in, the brownie sent to rescue Callum from the dangers of the moors. But the gruagach has appetites of his own, joining Callum and the wight in their amorous games before stealing Callum away to safety.

The gruagach comes to love Callum, but will that be enough to keep him from the dangerous barrow wight who wants his soul?

*** Copy provided to Bayou Book Junkie in exchange for a fair and honest review. ***Callum has been sent away by his father to make his own path, but as he travels through the forest he stumbles upon a Barrow Wight who wants to claim him. Callum is seduced at first, but when he comes to his senses, he escapes only to find faeries and nymphs who also want to seduce him. He finally finds a small farm and there he meets Liam, who's been sent by the farm's owner to rescue Callum. However, the Barrow Wight is not willing to relinquish his claim, so Liam will have to strike a deal with it to save Callum.This was such a different kind of book than what I usually read. I have to admit I don't read all that much Fantasy, but I loved Nicolas by Dianne Hartsock and when I saw this new book by her I couldn't resist and I'm glad I didn't. The book is short, but it is very interesting and I couldn't put it down until the last word, the characters are engaging and have great chemistry and my oh my, some of the scenes nearly scorched my tablet! Definitely recommendable! Rating: 4.5 Stars!!!